Once upon a time, in a school painted bright yellow like the sun, there was a very special room. This room was not for reading books. It was not for painting pictures. It was the Student Court room!
In the middle of the room sat a big, soft chair. This was the judge’s chair. And who sat in the chair? It was Judge Amara.
Amara was kind and smart. She wore a black robe that swished when she walked. *Swish, swish! * In her hand, she held a small wooden gavel.
*Tap, tap, tap! * That sound meant it was time to listen. Around Amara sat her friends. They were the Jury of Peers.
They were big kids, teenagers who were strong and tall. But today, they were not just big kids. They were helpers. Their job was to listen with their hearts and find the truth.
Can you guess what the truth is? The truth is what really happened. On this day, the room was very quiet. *Shhh, shhh.
* A little boy named Toby sat on a small bench. Toby looked very sad. His head was down. His shoulders were slumped.
He felt scared inside his tummy. *Flip, flop, flip, flop. * Judge Amara looked at Toby with warm eyes. She smiled a gentle smile.
'Toby,'Amara said softly. 'We are here to help you. The Jury of Peers is here to help too. We just need to know what happened.
'The Jury of Peers nodded their heads. *Nod, nod, nod. * They looked kind. They did not look angry.
Toby took a deep breath. *In and out. * He remembered the morning. He was playing with his friend Mia.
They were running fast. *Zoom, zoom! * They were playing chase. Toby ran past a tall shelf.
On the shelf sat the class trophy. It was shiny and gold. It sparkled in the light. Suddenly, Toby’s arm hit the shelf.
*Crash! * The trophy fell down. It broke into two pieces. Toby was so scared!
He thought the teacher would be mad. He thought his friends would be sad. So, he ran away. *Quick, quick!
* But now, he was in the Circle of Truth. Amara tapped her gavel again. *Tap, tap. *'Toby,'she said.
'Did you break the trophy? 'Toby looked at his shoes. He looked at the Jury. One of the teens, a girl named Lily, gave him a thumbs up.
'It is okay to tell the truth,'Lily said. 'It makes you brave. 'Toby looked up. His eyes were wet.
'Yes,'Toby whispered. 'I broke it. I was running too fast. *Crash!
* It was an accident. I am so sorry. 'Amara did not look mad. She looked proud.
'Thank you, Toby,'she said. 'You told the truth. That is the most important thing. 'The Jury of Peers clapped their hands.
*Clap, clap, clap! * The sound filled the room. It was a happy sound. 'We are not mad at you,'said a teen named Sam.
'Accidents happen to everyone. But telling the truth makes everything better. 'Amara stood up. She walked over to Toby.
She gave him a big hug. *Squeeze! *'Now,'Amara said. 'How can we fix this?
'Toby thought for a moment. He smiled a little bit. 'We can use glue,'Toby said. 'And maybe sparkles!
'The Jury laughed. *Hee, hee! *'That is a wonderful idea,'said Amara. So, Judge Amara, the Jury of Peers, and little Toby went to the craft table.
They got the sticky glue. *Glop, glop. * They got the shiny sparkles. *Sprinkle, sprinkle.
* They worked together to fix the trophy. It was not perfect. It had lines on it. But it looked beautiful because they fixed it with honesty.
Toby felt happy again. The scared feeling in his tummy went away. *Poof! * He learned that telling the truth is like magic.
It turns a scary moment into a happy one. Amara tapped her gavel one last time. *Tap! *'The court is finished,'she said.
'Good job, everyone. 'And they all lived happily ever after, playing and laughing together. *Giggle, giggle!